A Marauder in Love
by Niells
Summary: A oneshot about a certain Marauder who has fallen in love


"Prongs, I'm in love."  
"I've told you before, you cannot marry your reflection."  
"Oh, shut up. But really, I'm madly in love! With a girl!"  
"Are you serious?"  
"Well, actually -"  
"Shut up. The name puns are so old Padfoot."  
"Still makes the ladies laugh. Something I've noticed you can't make Evans do."  
"If you don't shut up Sirius, I will hex you back to Merlin's time!" With this arupt outburst, James stood and stormed off to his dormitory.

"My, my Black. What've you done to upset that toe rag so much? In fact, I didn't realise you two were capable of annoying each other."  
"Why do you want to know Evans? Want to be his big, scary protector?"  
"No. I want to know how to get rid of him as fast as you did."  
"Evans, I will tell you this about my dear James. You are _never_ going to be rid of him. Now, if you don't mind, I'm off to find Remus."  
"Uh, do you pay attention to anything other than your hair? Remus left to visit his mother, hours ago. Pretty much as soon as classes ended."  
"Oh, I thought he was in the library."  
"You are so daft."  
"Enough of your insults, Evans! I need help! Remus isn't here and it's obviously James' time of the month. That leaves you."  
"Me? What about Peter?"  
"He is clueless about this subject. Also, why're Remus and Peter, Remus and Peter but James and I are Potter and Black?"  
"Because I actually like them. What do you want?"

Sirius leaned in close to Lily not wanting others to hear. "I'm in love."  
Lily laughed, loudly, quickly stopping though, once looking at Sirius' incredibly serious face.  
"Black, you can't marry your own reflection."  
"You and James have more in common than you realise. Anyway, not my reflection. A girl."  
"Who?"  
"Her." Sirius looked over the top of Lily's head, at a petite blonde who was studying at a table. Her long hair was shielding her face but Lily still knew who it was.  
"Marlene? As in my best friend Marlene?"  
"The one and only."  
"Oh, for Merlin's sake! Did Potter put you up to this? Some perverse fantasy of his that if you're dating Marlene we can all go on double dates or something?!"  
"Pr-James doesn't know! I tried telling him before but I pissed him off before I could. Evans, can you help me?"  
"Help you what?"  
"Get the girl of my dreams?"

Lily sat back in the armchair, regarding Sirius for a moment. She looked back at Marlene, still focused on her Charms essay. Finally, she spoke.  
"I'll help you. But if she rejects you, it isn't my fault. She makes her own choices."  
"Understood. What do I do?"  
"First off, _don't_ do anything Potter tries with me. Girls don't actually enjoy being squawked at as they leave the bathroom."  
"He was serenading you."  
"He was squawking."  
"Freedom of interpretation. Anyway, not here to discuss the sexual tenson between you and my best mate. I'd very much like some advice."  
"Have you ever even spoken to her?"  
"Sure!"  
"When?"  
"In class, after practice and games. Oh, we both follow Puddlemere so we chat about their matches and stuff."  
"That's it? School and Quidditch? Do you know anything about her?"  
"She's your best friend and is a Chaser on the team, like James. She also has an older brother who graduated last year."  
"Good job. What colour are her eyes?"  
"Blue - but dark. Especially now."  
"What do you mean 'now'?"  
"Well, she's glaring at your head. Did you two have a fight too?"  
"No, no we didn't. Okay Black, I'm going to make this simple. Get to know her, become her friend. And don't ask her out until at least the next Hogsmeade weekend."  
"But that's in three weeks! I don't know if I can wait that long!  
"Well, you're going to have to. Now, I have homework. As always, lovely chatting with you Black."  
"You too, Evans. Oh, one more thing. Can I come talk to you if I need more advice?"  
"Sure, why not?" She then got up, reluctantly leaving the cosy armchair by the warm fire, and made her way to the girls' side of the dormitories. Marlene discarded her essay, hurrying after her best friend.

Sirius sat back and thought about his conversation with Lily. Marlene was the perfect girl. He had never felt like this about any of the other chicks he'd been with, even the ones he'd slept with, and that wasn't a large number. He watched Marlene follow Lily, her long blonde hair almost running behind while her legs, that truly went forever, were powering up the stairs. However, after this chat with Lily he was left with a problem. How was he, Sirius Black, going to be friends with a girl. It had never been done before, with the exception of Lily, and even then, she didn't really count, because she was out of bounds and everyone knew it.

Lily was still a little shell-shocked from her conversation with Sirius - so much so that she hadn't even noticed Marene follow her into the dormitory.  
"How dare you? You know I've liked him forever and now you're making a move on him?!"  
"What in Merlin's name are you on about?"  
"Sirius! You two looked mighty cosy by the fire!"  
"Oh for crying out loud Marls! I'm not making a move on Black! You should know I would never do that to you, and nor he to Potter!"  
"Then why were you talking to him?!"  
"Because he wanted advice on how to ask you out!"  
"Oh, a very - wait, what? He wants to ask _me_ out? _Sirius Black_, likes me, _Marlene McKinnon_?"  
"In love with you apparently."  
"Well?!"  
"Well what?"  
"What did you tell him?"  
"To get to know you, then ask you out."  
"Why would you do that?" Lily looked at her best friend, a little dumbfounded at her reaction.  
"Because it is the normal thing to do?"  
"We can get to know each other when we're together! Go down there and tell him to ask me out whenever he pleases!"  
"Are you serious?" Lily wasn't just questioning the girl's instructions, but also her manner of barking the order at Lily.  
"No, I want to be with Sirius." Marlene giggled to herself, having always thought the puns Sirius made about his name were funny and pretty cute.  
"You sicken me. Merlin, you and Black are perfect for each other. Are you absolutely sure that you want me to do this?"  
"Positive."  
"Fine. But don't blame me if it all goes bad."  
"I won't, promise. Thanks, Lils."  
"Yeah, yeah, I'm going now."

Marlene flung herself on her bed, absolutely delighted that her crush of over a year now had a crush on her. She could imagine it all now - walks through the nights, stolen moments in broom closests, Madam Puddifoot's on Valentine's Day! Lily left her giddy best friend behind, traipsing back down the stairs she'd adscended only moments ago. She found Sirius exactly where she'd left him, except he'd now been rejoined by James. Lily made her way over, only slightly annoyed by the presence of James.

"Black?"  
"Daffodil?"  
"Forget the advice I gave you. I wasn't thinking straight. You'll have plenty time of time to get to know her once you're together. Furthermore, I suggest that rather than wait for the next trip, take her on tomorrow's Hogsmeade trip."  
"Uh, Evans, are you sure?"  
"Positive. Now I really need to do my Potions essay. Goodbye."  
Both boys watched as Lily returned to her dormitory, neither entirely sure of what had just happened.

James was most confused, not knowing why his best mate had gone to Lily instead of him for advice. He smacked Sirius on the arm, letting him know of his annoyance.  
"Oi! What was that for?"  
"You went to Evans for advice? What am I? Chopped liver?"  
"I tried but I managed to piss you off. Then I was going to find Remus but the beautiful Lilypad informed me he left straight after classes to visit his mother."  
"Full moon isn't until tomorrow night though."  
"Probably easier to explain him being away the whole weekend." James was confused again, not used to Sirius using any kind of logic.  
"True. So what're you going to do about this bird? By the way, who is she?"  
"Marlene McKinnon."  
"Lily's best friend? Well, I can see this working perfectly!"  
"Yeah, yeah. Enough about your never-ending quest for the Flower. I'm going to ask her to join me in Hogsmeade tomorrow."  
"Guess I'm going stag then."  
"What about Peter?"  
"Something about a Gobstones tournament."  
"Right. Say no more. Sorry mate, but this is important. Honestly, I've never felt this way about a girl before."  
"Yeah, I know."  
"Why don't you just ask some random chick? Just about anyone would leap at the oppportunity."  
"Just about anyone?"  
"Well, everyone except Evans and Marlene."  
"Whatever, Padfoot. I'll just go alone. Need to buy Mum and Dad Christmas presents anyway."  
"Christmas is a month away!"  
"I like to be prepared."  
James stopped the conversatoion there, wanting to focus on his assignment. Truth was, he knew any girl would leap at the chance, but he didn't want any girl. He wanted Lily.

Sure, he'd used girls to try and make her jealous but it never worked. It was just easier to go to Hogsmeade alone now. Girls wanted more than one date, even though they all knew they were temporary. Didn't stop them all thinking they could be the one to change his feelings towards Lily. A few had even told him that. That happened to be the point in the date where he would walk her back to the castle or he firends, then join his mates at the Three Broomsticks or Zonko's.

Dinner that evening was fairly normal, including when Peter spilt pumpkin juice all down his front due to staring at Mary Macdonald once again. Lily and Marlene suppressed their laughter, knowing Mary hated Peter being picked on, even if she did not return his feelings. Lily thought it was a particularly pleasant dinner, especially as her favourite dessert, apple pie, had been served. However, she couldn't help but feel that something was off, not quite right. Then, it hit her.  
Potter hadn't asked her to join him in Hogsmeade the following day, something he always did and something she always said no to. In fact, Potter had been quiet all through dinner, barely even talking to Black, which was something that definitely never happened. Perhaps he was getting ill. But really, why was she even thinking about the toerag? She should just be happy he wasn't harassing her. Shouldn't she?

The low hum of conversation and dessert-eating was interrupted by none other than Sirius Black.

"Marlene, you're looking tasty tonight, is that pie beautiful? Uh, I, uh, mean, you're looking beautiful, is that pie tasty?"  
It was an extremely rare occurence for Sirius Black to be flustered, and so those around him watched with glee.  
"Uh, yes, yes it is pretty tasty. Are you okay, Sirius?"  
"WannagotoHogsmeadewithme?" Cue more giggling from Sirius' small audience.  
"Sirius, sentences need spaces between words."  
"Right. Sorry. I mean, do you want to go to Hogsmeade with me? Tomorrow?"  
"I'd be delighted." Marlene's cheeks were now the same red as Sirius', though she wasn't sweating like him.  
"Are you sure?"  
"Uh, yeah? Meet me in the Common Room at ten. Okay?"  
"Yeah, okay." With that, Sirius stood up and made his way to the door, with James quickly following suit.

"Did she really say yes or was I talking to myself again?"  
"She said yes, Padfoot. Since when did you become such a girl?"  
"About the same time you decided to pine after the rose for the rest of your days."  
"You can be a real dog sometimes, mate."  
"And you can be real dumb. But hey, who cares? I'm going on a date with Marlene!"

James had never seen his best mate this excited about a date with a girl before, and there'd been plenty. Obviously, Sirius was serious about Marlene. James just hoped it didn't lead to his heart being broken. He followed Sirius back to the dormitory, quickly undressing and falling down on his bed, the curtains closing around him. As his eyes closed, Lily danced across his mind as he fell asleep.

Sirius, on the other hand, exhibited his narcissistic tendencies, by making Peter and Frank help him choose an outfit for his date. He made them sit through six options, before finally deciding on a seventh. He took forever to get to sleep, excited for the following day, when he'd finally have a date with the girl he'd been wanting for a year now.

**A.N Hope you've enjoyed this little oneshot. More to come. -N**


End file.
